Love Sailing

With Elektra moved from her winter mooring, it was time for me to pull winter mooring anchors out of the mud and pick up her lines. While I was there Anthony our engineer came along in his loader tractor heading to Elektra to remove her old Bukh engine.

I had to go to work after that but on looking at Elektra next day the engine was gone.

I was taking a few photos and Anthony arrived with Elektra’s new Yanmar 3YM20, l was able to help get her new engine aboard. Anthony is busy this time of the year and after fitting the new stern shaft and fixing new engine barriers down he was off to his next job. But now the rest of the fitting can be done whatever the weather.

I had arranged with the local boat yard to have Elektra pulled out to allow her to be re-engined, her old Bukh DV20 seemed to be still running well but was over 36 years, time for a change.

The tide was a problem, not really high enough to float Elektra and get her down the channel to the boat yard just 1/2 mile away. I had hoped to float her on the evening of 24th February but she didn’t float at high water, which meant getting out early before light on the 25th which worked and I was able to pull her into deeper water ready for her move to St Anthony the following morning.

I had arranged with Vicki to help, high water was 0650hrs and we were down to Elektra in good time but getting into the punt l knocked the value with my foot and the dinghy started to deflate, quickly back to shore and pull the dinghy out. I then had to drive home for the pump! On my return with the pump the tide was now on the turn, so no time was wasted getting aboard.

Lines were cast off and we pulled Elektra via her port stern line into the channel before engaging the engine drive. Slowly we motor down the creek with as little as 0.5m under the keel but all was ok and we picked up a mooring off St Anthony about 20mins later. The boat yard guys were already getting ready to get Elektra out as Vicki and l paddled the dinghy in, l pulled the dinghy on to the shore, left Vicki there and walked back for my pickup. Then a short drive to St Anthony for Vicki and then home again for breakfast

After breakfast it was time to head back to see how they had got on, they had pulled her out enough so she couldn’t float away and let the tide go out before roping her to the trailer and pulling her out the rest of the way

Elektra had almost been untouched since laying her up on her winter mooring last October because of the wet and windy weather.

With the season just around the

corner it was time to start. First just was to clean as much of the green off her top sides and scrub the mud off her bottom.

Still raining but an ideal cleaning day l started with the top sides while the tide was going out. Once she had dried out l started scrubbing under the her water line, not a great job lying on the muddy creek bottom!

Later with the tide coming in again it was time to head for home, l was happy to have made a start on her winter work.

January. Starting on the winter jobs.

February. Fitting new coax and antenna.

March. Drying out on St Anthony beach to anti-foul and load gear.

April. East wind meant Elektra had to be anchored in the safety of Carne Creek most of the month.

Late April. First weekend away, seen here anchored in the Precuil River.

May. SSOA Rally in Fowey, great event with 18 yachts and 40 owners and crew.

June. Our first and only photo of Elektra sailing so far over 3 seasons.

July. First weeks holiday, seen here in the River Avon, South Devon.

July. At the end of the month another holiday, seen here in Restronguet Creek.

August. A wet and windy month, Elektra sat on her mooring unused.

September. Last holiday, here heading back to the Falmouth area from Fowey before the forecasted easterly gale.

October. The winter weather arrived early, so only one weekend away before Elektra was laid up for the winter.

November and December. Up a muddy creek for the winter, its not long before Elektra is muddy below the water line and green above!

River Avon, South Devon.

The sailing was mixed in 2019, Elektra was ready to go back on her mooring by the 3rd week of March. Our mooring is only available from the beginning April to end of October. With the beginning of April came strong east wind (our summer mooring is open to east wind), this stopped us going out for most of the month. The sailing was good in May and June, then came July, nice weather but and almost no wind. August was a wet and windy month and we couldn’t get out but September came good again and October was a wash out!

We sailed to Fowey for the SSOA Rally at the end of May, great rally with 18 yachts getting there. Then came the time when we looked for the weather to get out to Scilly but no joy this season, the weather was never right when we had the time to go! In the end we went east instead after a easterly gale had blown out at the beginning of July, we sailed to Salcombe via Fowey and Cawsands over three days. Returning to Gillan via the River Avon in South Devon, Yealm River and Fowey. Two weeks later we had another week aboard but we only stayed local Falmouth area due to very little wind.

With the weather this season the cockpit encloser ordered in Nov 18 hasn’t got finished, the stainless work was done be the end of July but the weather in August stopped the guy from taking the template of it, we are hoping it will be finished for spring 2020.

The numbers are, we had 59 days aboard of which we sailed for 39 of them, logging only 491nm. 42 nights aboard and 32 of them at anchor.

26th October

The end of the season has arrived, with strong east wind forecasted for next week it was time to move Elektra onto her winter mooring.

In the morning I took the anchors and the mooring lines down to Carne Creek to set up for later using thigh waders. We have two 15kg Bruce anchors for this job with chain and mooring line attached. The Creek is mostly stone with a little mud on top up by the road but nearer the channel is deep mud, the bottom of the channel and the streams running into it have solid bottoms and can be walked on. I picked up each anchor in turn and dragged the chain via a steam bed to the channel, once at the channel with the anchor I pulled the chain and mooring line to the channel, then working my way along the channel to set each anchor in turn for aft mooring lines. Then setting up fore lines from trees by the side of the road, linking all these lines together makes it easier when we come to moor up Elektra later.

Seems easy but all the time I was setting up the lines it was tipping down with rain, I had a waterproof top on and thigh waders, there was a gap between the waders and the waterproof top so the rain was running down the inside of the waders! The river was full of rain water coming down from the hills and so the channel was deeper than normal.

 

After going home for a shower and lunch, Vicki and I set off again for St Anthony and out to Elektra’s mooring in the punt and then motored her up to Carne slowly watching the depth but with the low pressure the tide was higher and the least depth was 0.9m. Mooring up was easy, then we set about emptying some gear out. Normally we would dry her out on St Anthony beach but the east wind stopped this. We will be clearing more gear tomorrow over the high water.

20th October

I always sleep aboard a lot better than at home, I think its the only place I can truly relax and last night was the best sleep for a month I only woke at 1030rs to a lovely sunny morning.

We had been the only yacht there overnight but 2 more yachts had arrived in the morning. Vicki cooked brunch and we talked about leaving later that day, the deciding factor was the water running out before we could do the washing up! There was a problem with mooring up once back at Gillan. The wind was forecast to be NNE4-5 which would be affecting our mooring but we decided to go anyway.

We picked up our anchor at 1500hrs after having a nice day sunning ourselves in the cockpit. motoring out past Turnaware buoy I set just the genoa and stopped the engine. We were soon back, arriving Gillan at 1630hrs having logged 8.5nm, I had seen 6.7kts at one stage on the GPS.

We moored up quickly as possible and got off Elektra because she was bounding up and down so much. That was the last sail of the season but it had been a good one!

 

19th October

This was the first chance of a sail we had since the end of our holiday in September. We cast off the mooring in Gillan at 1215hrs with nearly no wind we were only logging 1.5-2kts SOG and I think this was tide pushing us east, we so decided it would be better to motor.

We motored about 1nm and then set the sails again, now making 3kts SOG in 6kts of wind. We were going to sail across the bows of a big container ship about a mile to the north, then the pilot boat was seen at her bow so we beared away a little to pass astern of her. Sailing in nearer we could see her anchor was up and she was starting to make way, she signalled she was turning to starboard, she continued to turn 180 degrees, as she did we tacked port to pass behind her before returning to our coarse.

Passing between Black Rock and Pendennis Point at 1330hrs having logged 4nm, we continued north at the same sort of speed, we tacked just north of St Just in Roseland and headed over to Mylor, we tacked again and headed for Turnaware Point. The wind died just before the Turnaware buoy, so we motored into Channels Creek at dropped anchor at 1500hrs having logged 9nm.

We then discovered the cabin heater wasn’t working! We also had very little water! The plan had been to stay aboard until Monday but without heat and water?

It wasn’t to bad that evening, after cooking the yacht warmed up and also hot food helped as will. We used a hot water bottle to warm the bed which hadn’t been used for a month.

Saturday 21st September

The gale hand picked up though Thursday night and where we were anchored although sheltered the wind was dumping into the river and Elektra was acting like a snake swinging all over the place which gave me a sleepless night. On Friday I went by dinghy over to the sailing club and walked into St Mawes for bread and milk . With the gale in full swing St Mawes harbour was full of white horses (and this was the sheltered side). Having got back to Elektra with the shopping we decided to move for better shelter, moving 1/2nm up the river into shallow water under a tree lined bank we found a spot where there wasn’t any wind at all! There in the afternoon I could sleep in the sunshine and enjoy being at anchor again!

The forecast for Saturday was the wind to ease though the day and go southerly on Sunday, we wanted to leave the easterly die away for getting Elektra back on her mooring in Gillan. We couldn’t get into St Anthony until 1830hrs so having enjoyed another day aboard in the sunshine we picked up the mooring at 1645hrs and motored out of the Precuil River, it was foggy, could see about 1.5nm there was very little wind so we motored though the remains our the easterly swell across Falmouth Bay and onto Elektra’s mooring picking it up at 1800hrs.

Looking at the forecast for the coming week, I expect that’s our last sailing for September, only three possible weekends left before Elektra will be laid up for the winter.

Thursday 19th September

With east wind on Wednesday and Thursday with a easterly gale forecasted for Friday it was time to head back to the Falmouth area. The forecast for today was easterly 4 increasing 5 in afternoon and 6 in evening. The tide stream wasn’t with us until 1215hrs but I didn’t want to wait that long so we motored out of Fowey at 1010hrs and set all the genoa with one reef in the main.

She could have taken more sail but with the forecast I wasn’t willing to shake the reef out, so we sailed across to the Dodman Pt at about 4-4.5kts, other yachts past us on passage but they were all bigger by 8-10ft so we would never have kept them behind us anyway.

At the Dodman Pt I had to pull the mainsail down because it was taking the genoas wind, from there the wind picked up and 5 or 6kts was seen on the GPS at times. The nearer we got to Falmouth the bigger the sea got and the more Vicki found Elektra a problem to steer, so I took over the helm. Somewhere in my past I learn to steer in these quarter rolling seas and I don’t need to think about it much and can just do without thinking. By the time we got as far as the Roseland the sea was very rough with white crests rolling Elektra on to her side quite a lot. I had kept a good way off the Roseland trying to keep in deeper water until I let Vicki take the helm so I could jibe the genoa though onto the other tack, having winched in the sail I took over the helm again until we entered the Carrick Roads and shelter.

As the wind died away in the shelter of the Roseland I started the engine, Vicki went back on the helm and I rolled the genoa in, motoring into the Precuil River we dropped anchor at 1500hrs having logged 23nm.